Temperature Gauge

M2B

M2B

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 15, 2009
Location
Ontario, Canada
TDI
2005 Passat TDI Wagon
Gents:
The temperature gauge on My 2005 Passat Wagon has been acting very strangely lately. In the morning, several minutes after a cold start, the gauge may come up a little and then quickly drop to 0. Stays at 0 for 5 to 10 minutes (and sometimes longer) and then shoots up quickly to the right temperature. This does not happen all the time, but it’s been more frequent lately then in the past.
The engine does not appear to be overheating.
Any ideas what the problem may be:
(1)Faulty Thermostat
(2)Faulty Temp Sensor
(3)Faulty Temperature Gauge
(4)Shorting Out wiring.
 
KRM

KRM

Member
Joined
Oct 17, 2002
Location
Ontario, Canada
TDI
Passat TDI GLS 2005
Probably #2. I had this problem last year and the dealer said it was a common problem with the B5.5
 
R

Rick Auffenberg

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 27, 2007
Location
Marietta GA.
TDI
05 Passat TDI GLX Reflex Silver
I have noticed the same symtoms, but latley it has been working correctly, is the temp sensor hard to replace? and is it expensive?

Rick
 
C

ctsoh

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2004
Location
North East Ohio, USA
TDI
2005 Passat TDI Wagon, 2002 New Beetle TDI, Blue
My (2005 Passat) temperature sensor went at 82,000 miles. It started going in and out at 81,000 and then quit. If it is going in and out, it will fail soon. It's not in an easily accessible place. I had a guy with very small thin hands, reach down behind the engine, and replace the temperature sensor. This is not the official way to do it, as coolant leaks out when you do this, and it can be very hot (unless you wait sufficient time for cooling). We added about a half gallon of real VW coolant. I guess the official way to do the job is to remove the front end, drain the coolant, and then somehow reach down to the sensor and replace it. Anyway, mine has been fixed for 3 months, and no coolant leaking.
My recommendation is.. if you are getting a timing belt, or other major front end work, get the sensor replaced anyway. In my opinion, it's going to go bad anyway, and you might as well get it replaced.
 
Last edited:
Joe_Meehan

Joe_Meehan

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 3, 2005
Location
Ohio USA
TDI
NB TDI, 2002.5, Silver
I believe it varies on different cars, but mine (2002 NB) was easy to get to, and I lost maybe 4-6 oz of coolant. There is a how to in the older messages with photos. (Note I have small hands so I could reach in there. Your experience may be different.

Good Luck.
 
M2B

M2B

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 15, 2009
Location
Ontario, Canada
TDI
2005 Passat TDI Wagon
ctsoh said:
My (2005 Passat) temperature sensor went at 82,000 miles. It started going in and out at 81,000 and then quit. If it is going in and out, it will fail soon. It's not in an easily accessible place. I had a guy with very small thin hands, reach down behind the engine, and replace the temperature sensor. This is not the official way to do it, as coolant leaks out when you do this, and it can be very hot (unless you wait sufficient time for cooling). We added about a half gallon of real VW coolant. I guess the official way to do the job is to remove the front end, drain the coolant, and then somehow reach down to the sensor and replace it. Anyway, mine has been fixed for 3 months, and no coolant leaking.
My recommendation is.. if you are getting a timing belt, or other major front end work, get the sensor replaced anyway. In my opinion, it's going to go bad anyway, and you might as well get it replaced.
Click to expand...
Ctsoh, thanks for the response. I think I will try changing the sensor. Do you have a picture showing the location of the sensor?
 
afarfalla

afarfalla

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 6, 2006
Location
sugar land tx
TDI
05 Passat sedan and 05 wagen
pull connector, dab a liberal amount of insul grease on both connector halves connect back should take care of your problem, this fixed the problem on 2 jetta's I had
 
MOGolf

MOGolf

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jun 27, 2001
Location
underneath something
TDI
2001 Golf GLS TDI Reflex silver, rough road suspension and steel skid plate, 2004 Passat Variant, Candy White, rough road suspension and geared balanced shaft module, and much, much more. 2016 LR RR HSE TD6, 2019 Jaguar I-PACE
M2B said:
Ctsoh, thanks for the response. I think I will try changing the sensor. Do you have a picture showing the location of the sensor?
Click to expand...
Jetta's, Golf's and NB's are much easier to access. Due to the longitudinal engine mounting in the Passat it is much more difficult to get at.

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showpost.php?p=2508991&postcount=2

I have removed the tandem pump from a Passat (not a bad task, but not a 5 minute job either), and you do get more arm room to get down to the sensor. Using the method described in the post linked above, not much fuel gets spilled.
 
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